During
the 1980s I developed applications on a VM mainframe. This was a
popular platform. I had sub second response time, my test environment was isolated and
protected, and I shared access to read-only data or
tools someone else maintained. Since I was isolated, I knew whatever I wrote or tested in my
virtual machine would not harm other application developers or
production users. Since I shared this VM mainframe, there were VM
tools to watch how much hardware resources I consumed and alert the
system programmer if I exceeded my threshold. I will never forget
the day when I was caught eating up all the CPU, at least that was
what I was told.

Today,
programmers can write Java, C, or C++ web applications
within their own Linux for System z virtual machine under the control
of z/VM. They access this Linux server via a command line interface such as Putty
or graphical desktop sharing interface like VNC. All they need is
the hostname or IP address with a valid userid/password. They have the advantage of a protected
Linux environment isolated from other developers, just as I had. z/VM
will even allow testing a cluster of Linux virtual servers if the
application requires it.

There are Tivoli
tools that can provide performance monitoring, trace transactions, or
identify what is happening in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) for
z/VM. These tools are the OMEGAMON for z/VM and Linux or IBM Tivoli
Composite Application Manager products. Developers can incorporate
proactive monitoring using thresholds to identify bottlenecks using Tivoli tools. So, performance and stress testing the application
can be done in z/VM.

Tivoli products
are evolving into new and innovative ways for developers to provision
their test z/VM environment. Developers can select from a service catalog
a test environment to provision one or more Linux virtual
machines. They provision the application middleware with the
performance monitoring Tivoli tools when the Linux for System z
environment is built. The developer gets delivery of their test
Linux environment measured in minutes instead of months. Each
provisioned Linux environment is protected and self contained under the
control of z/VM.

This is possible
with the Tivoli Service Automation Manager (TSAM) product. It
provides service delivery of test environments for a z/VM and Linux
on System z environment. TSAM provides the capability to request,
fulfill, and manage complete software stacks for a developer. This
comprises the definition, offering, request, and automated
provisioning of the stack which includes the integrated management of
the environment. This could be done for a development, test, or
pre-production quality assurance system. The labor intensive and
error prone days of standing up a test environment can be replaced
with TSAM.

The advantages of
z/VM and the zSeries server is as valuable today for
application developers as it was for me in the 1980s. What is different today are the Tivoli tools that enhance
developer productivity. And the control to provision virtual
resources can be put in the hands of the developer.

Hello!
Welcome to the Technical Advice for Tivoli z Innovation blog! I am Tony Liu, and I have
worked for IBM in the IT industry for three decades. It has been a
rewarding experience working on mainframe solutions. Outside of work,
I am involved with numerous community service projects where I apply
my technology and professional skills learned at IBM. The common
thread between my job and Community Service is how technology made
our world better. Fortunately, many people have helped me with their
time and talents to develop innovative technology solutions.

Mainframe
technology has evolved over the decades yet maintained its place as a
dependable platform in the data center, both from a hardware and
software perspective. The data center has gone from a centralized
model to a decentralized client/server model, then back to
centralized again. The centralized model is cost effective,
environmentally friendly, and well suited for the mainframe. In
fact, the mainframe has survived as an evermore cost-effective
server. System z applications have evolved to fit into an on-demand
world. Today, System z hosts solutions for a new generation of user
interface devices.

The System z
provides capabilities to meet consumer needs including application
access on their desired platform (Linux or z/OS) as well as quick
time to value, reliable response time, economic efficiency, and
environmental efficiency. These expectations demand access 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. The System z is well suited to these
expectations and is a cornerstone in the data center. Today’s
zSeries server has unparalleled reliability, availability, and
flexibility. Let’s be innovative and build on this platform!

The world is
entering an era of new and innovative ways to use Information
Technology with the System z as a server. The challenge to you is to
build upon the zSeries to address key challenges that effects our
lives, our communities, and our world. The hope of this blog is to
inspire you to contribute towards this goal -- to share ideas and
inspire innovative solutions.